Is Refinancing Similar to Modifying Your Loan?

With so many terms cropping up in the lending industry, it is not at all surprising that consumers are getting a bit confused. In some cases consumers use certain terms interchangeable, furthering the misconceptions that similar sounding loan products are actually identical. Two loan products that routinely become confused are the refinanced loan and the modified loan.

Although nothing alike, the procedures are sufficiently similar to warrant the frequent mistaking of their identities. During a refinance, a borrower contacts a mortgage lender and seeks to apply for a new loan product to replace the one he/she currently holds. The borrower will have the property secured by the loan he/she is trying to take out. In the process, the borrower must have the property appraised, prove personal creditworthiness, and pay either points or accept a higher interest rate in return for the new loan.

When a loan modification is done, however, the borrower applies to the current lender. Since the borrower is in the pre-foreclosure state, the creditworthiness is not sufficient to qualify for a conventional refinance loan Additionally, in a loan mod scenario there are no points to pay. It is not the creation of a new loan but simply the changing of the terms of an already existing loan.

In order to qualify for a refinance of a home loan a borrower must have adequate credit. To qualify for a loan mod, the home must be close to foreclosure. Some refinance loans do not require that a borrower proves any income while during a modification there must be a complete disclosure of all incomes and expenses. As you can see, the similarity that has some consumers confused about the loan modification versus refinance loan products rests solely in the resemblance of terminology. When comparing the loans products side by side, they are entirely dissimilar. This is also demonstrated in the attitude lenders have toward these loans. Getting a refinance loan is a means of incurring new business and generally speaking these loans are heavily advertised. Loan modifications, on the other hand, are a final effort at preserving a mortgage in danger of becoming a bad debt in the books of the bank, and therefore it is not widely advertised.

Consumers who need more information about this revolutionary means of saving their home from foreclosure are urged to compile their financial data and then contact their lender for a serious discussion about the options open to the borrower. To modify your loan you can also visit the site loanmodification-411.com which is a very resourceful site/forum. Keeping in mind that borrowers who could qualify for a refinance will not be considered for a modification, it is wise to first seek to exhaust all other options before approaching the bank about a loan mod of the terms pertaining to the mortgage you currently hold.